Colorado Avalanche: 3 Facts about our New Defenseman, Calle Rosen

The Colorado Avalanche acquired Calle Rosen in the Tyson Barrie trade. Find out more about the team’s newest defenseman.

The Colorado Avalanche made a big trade on the day of the Free Agency Frenzy. The main pieces of the trade were our offensive defenseman, Tyson Barrie, for second-line center Nazem Kadri.

One of the extra tidbits in the trade was defenseman Calle Rosen.

The 25-year-old is from Växjö, Sweden, a town near the southern end of the country and near a lake. In fact, that’s where the town gets its name — Växjö means “road lake,” which is a reference to the road over the frozen Lake Växjö.

In fact, Rosen played for the Lakers as a young adult — the Växjö Lakers, that is. It was his play there that got the attention of NHL scouts, including ones from Chicago.

However, it was the Toronto organization that eventually landed the Swede. So, let’s find out a little more about Calle Rosen.

1. Calle Rosen was Undrafted

Rosen played his “juniors” years for the Frölunda HC J20 league. He didn’t make a big splash in those years, and also didn’t play in a lot of international tournaments. So, he never caught the eye of scouts during his draft years.

By the time he’d turned 21, making him ineligible for the NHL Draft, he was playing for the Växjö Lakers. By then, he was one of the SHL’s premier defensemen.

A couple years later, when he was 23, both the Chicago Blackhawks and Toronto Maple Leafs were scouting him pretty hard. In 2017, Toronto signed him to a two-year entry-level contract as an undrafted player.

2. Calle Rosen Waited a Long Time in Between NHL Chances

Calle Rosen made the Leafs out of camp in 2017. He played four games with the team.However, the Leafs thought his game needed work, probably to help him adapt to the North American game. So, they sent him to their AHL affiliate, the Marlies.

There, Rosen languished for the next year-and-a-half, over 500 days, according to The Athletic. He made his second “debut” on April 1, 2019, against the New York Islanders and even recorded his first NHL goal.

Here it is:

Rosen finished out the season with Toronto. And then, of course, he got traded to Colorado.

By the way, the poor defenseman had to have a makeshift stall in the corner near the screens set up for pressers. The makeshift stall denoted he was an emergency player.

3. Calle Rosen was the Marlies’ Best Defenseman

Calle Rosen played 116 games with the Marlies. He recorded 68 points (11 goals, 57 assists) in that time. That’s not to shabby for a defenseman.

His coach at the time, Sheldon Keefe, considered Rosen “a good player — that’s the biggest thing.”

In fact, in describing Rosen’s skill, Keefe unknowingly gave an indication of what Colorado saw in the prospect:

“…with his skillset and his speed it really lends itself to being a great defenceman for us with real tight gaps, making it hard on the opponent. He doesn’t have to rely on physicality and strength necessarily. He can utilize his speed to be on top of guys and that makes life a lot easier for him.”

There’s that magic word that means so much to the Colorado Avalanche — speed. If you’ve got it, the Avs will at least take a look at you. It doesn’t mean you’ve got the job, but at least you got the once-over.

Keefe came to depend on his top defenseman. Rosen saw a lot of ice time in all situations — 5-on-5, penalty, and the power play.

The coach did that with the intent to groom Rosen for the NHL. Although the defenseman makes the same money at both levels — he signed an extension in December 2018 that sees him making $750,000 whether he’s in the NHL or AHL — Rosen isn’t meant to be a career AHLer.

Well, it should be interesting to see how Calle Rosen slots in with the Colorado Avalanche. Defense is our area of surplus. However, just like all the other young hopefuls, Rosen will be given a chance to put his skills on display at camp.

He may not make the team straightaway, but he may just distinguish himself as the first call-up.